Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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San Francisco Examiner - January 10, 2002
Tanya Pampalone Of The Examiner Staff
Questions about what types of HIV prevention programs are appropriate and useful were raised, in response to the federal obscenity ruling of programs run through the local nonprofit, the Stop AIDS Project.
The Examiner reported last week that the nonprofit group embarked on an advertising campaign to clear their name following a report that puts all federally funded AIDS organizations under a financial microscope.
Steve Gibson, a member of the DPH's HIV Prevention Planning Council, who led the press conference, defended the usefulness of local HIV prevention efforts.
He said the programs are working, despite a two-fold increase in infection rates among gay men in San Francisco over the past few years. Gibson, who is also the program director of the Stop AIDS Project, attributed the rise in infections to the higher number of men living with HIV in San Francisco. Decrease in condom use has also been cited, due to the mistaken belief that AIDS drugs alone can combat the virus.
DPH officials hope the 7,000 new glossy magazine-style publications titled "The AIDS epidemic is not over" will help educate affected communities and influence policy makers and politicians to support AIDS funding.
"It's an easy way for them to understand what is happening with HIV in San Francisco," said Tracey Packer, DPH's head of planning for HIV prevention.
Statistics showing the rise of HIV in gay men -- one in three are infected in San Francisco -- and the decrease of the epidemic in injection drug users, which is attributed to needle exchange programs, dominate the publication alongside "spokesmodel" stories.
Steve, a 27-year-old volunteer with the Stop AIDS Project and "spokesmodel" who is featured, sans shirt, in the publication, said gay men in San Francisco still don't talk about their HIV status -- a hindrance, he says to good prevention.
"There is still a stigma attached to it," he said. "Even in San Francisco."
E-mail Tanya Pampalone at tpampalone@sfexaminer.com
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